Since I began covering the environment three years ago, one thing has stood out about the "green" movement - it's fairly white. I try to talk to a lot of different sources on matters such as oysters, crabs, fisheries, etc., and while I have come to know a fair number of female scientists, there is not much diversity in terms of race.

I don't know if there are any high-ranking African-Americans in the Department of Natural Resources anymore. The last one I recall to serve in the agency was Mark Bundy, an assistant secretary with a doctorate in resource economics who had worked in the agency for 27 years and, according to my reporting, was well-respected. But by 2005, he was gone: the Ehrlich Administration replaced him with Ron Guns, a former delegate who chaired the House Environmental Matters Committee for a decade and was reviled by many environmentalists.

One year, Guns scored a 16 out of a possible 100 on the League of Conservation Voters' annual scorecard.

Bundy has since moved on to a position at Morgan State, where he is environmental program manager for the university's estuarine research center. The center, which studies oysters, crabs and phytoplankon, is in Southern Maryland.

It seems that members of the General Assembly are also concerned about the lack of diversity in the environmental movement. It has created a task force on the environment and race to look at the issue. The group met throughout the summer and will have a final report released soon, perhaps in the Fall.

Thanks to the Patuxent Riverkeeper's web site for reporting on this; the site also promises to post the final report when it comes out.